LDS Church Leader D. Todd Christofferson Calls for Gambling Exodus

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) leader D. Todd Christofferson took time on Saturday (Oct. 3) during the fall General Conference to decry gambling in all forms. D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor, First Presidency, addresses gambling at the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Christofferson told the LDS Church that gambling in all forms is morally wrong and should be rejected as sin. (Image: General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ/YouTube) Christofferson, one of three members of the First Presidency, whom the church calls Apostles of Jesus Christ, addressed rapidly expanding online gambling from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Christofferson said the church has always opposed gambling, but in recent years, gambling has become “incredibly pervasive.” The smartphone has transformed gambling from an occasional activity requiring a trip to a casino, racetrack, or lottery kiosk into an activity available continuously, privately, and almost anywhere. This has led to an explosion in gambling,” Christofferson said. Christofferson said the growth is being primarily driven by mobile sports betting, iGaming, and online prediction markets. “Prediction markets allow participants to bet on whether something will or will not happen and when. It can be tied to anything, interest rates, elections, sports, wildfires, or, if you can imagine, the timing of the second coming,” Christofferson said to laughs. “Where do you go to collect on that bet?” LDS: Gambling ‘Morally Wrong’ Christofferson’s nearly 13-minute address on gambling centered on the theme that gambling provides nothing of value and steals both money and time from more holy endeavors. “Our resources are stewardships, and the question is not merely whether a purchase is legal but whether it builds anything—in us, in our families or in those around us. In the end, gambling produces nothing of value and enriches only its purveyors,” Christofferson said. I am pleading with all of us to live life on a higher plane. God has granted life and agency to each of us, and each of us is accountable to Him for how we live that life. Work leads to prosperous, just, and equitable societies. Gambling, even for fun, leads in the opposite direction,” Christofferson concluded. Christofferson was appointed to the First Presidency on Oct. 14, 2025. He’s been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since April 5, 2008, and a member of the General Authority Seventy since 1993. Gambling Not Only LDS Abstinence The LDS Church is a Christian denomination founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, who published “The Book of Mormon” that same year. LDS members, along with abstaining from gambling, are commanded not to drink alcohol, coffee, or hot tea (other than herbal tea), use illegal drugs, or consume tobacco. The “Word of Wisdom,” or “the commandments for the physical and spiritual benefit of His Children,” was revealed to the “Prophet Smith” during a revelation he received on Feb. 28, 1833. That’s according to the official LDS website. The post LDS Church Leader D. Todd Christofferson Calls for Gambling Exodus appeared first on Casino.org.